


Weather the Storm

by 18lzytwner



Series: ThunderCats Third Series [4]
Category: Thundercats (1985)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2019-07-04 19:18:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 20,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15847686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/18lzytwner/pseuds/18lzytwner
Summary: The winter has been harsh on New Thundera and it would look like the ThunderCats and their brethren will be in trouble. However the weather has less to do with the planet itself and more to do with an old foe. Can they reverse the process that's been started or will the ThunderCats be in a permanent deep freeze?





	1. Chapter 1

"Come on Pumyra, you have to push!" Tygra encouraged the puma. She had been in labor for the last ten hours and finally the baby was trying to make an appearance. Ben-Gali held her hand and tried to be encouraging.

"It's almost over. Just a little bit more pushing," he said. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it so hard he thought his fingers would break.

"If it's so easy then why don't you do it?!" She shouted at him.

"If it were easy the Gods would have had men give birth," Cheetara chuckled as she helped Tygra with the process of coaxing the cub out.

"Agreed," Cavan chuckled over the intercom. She was standing outside the room watching with Li-en. The liger was finally being released from physical therapy today and they happened to be in the right spot at the right time when Tygra wheeled Pumyra into the Med Bay. It was then that they heard the cries of a little pumiger.

"It's a boy!" Tygra announced happily as he handed the very messy baby off to Cheetara who went to get the little one cleaned up. Pumyra collapsed back on the bed, glad it was over.

"You did it!" Ben-Gali leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"So what is his name going to be?" Tygra asked as he everything cleaned up. Both Ben-Gali and Pumyra had agreed that they wanted to be surprised by the sex of their cub and had been picking boy and girl names.

"Lakshmana," Pumyra smiled slightly as the now clean baby was placed in her arms.

"A good strong Thunderian name and quite apropos considering," Cheetara gave a smile at the choice for it meant "marked for luck" or "lucky". He would probably be their only child considering how hard it had been to conceive after the miscarriage and Pumyra's age.

"I agree. Now why don't we give you guys some time alone?" Tygra chuckled as the little one was already dozing on his mother's chest. He and Cheetara exited the room after pulling the curtain on the windows closed.

"He is so cute!" Cavan smiled.

"He is. I'm glad it all worked out well," Li-en said as Tygra and Cheetara approached them.

"I am too. I was a little nervous but I think everyone will be just fine," the tiger nodded.

"How are  _you_  doing?" Cheetara asked the liger. His casts had come off and he'd been working to regain his strength but it wouldn't be until the spring that he would be able to start his retraining in order to prove he could still do the job of ThunderCat. No one doubted him and Lion-O had promised that even if he could not go on full duty right away he would not take away the title. Once a ThunderCat always a ThunderCat, he had said.

"I'm feeling much stronger and I can play with the kids again," Li-en smiled.

"Glad to hear it," the cheetah pulled him into a hug. The two had been spending a lot of time together in the physical therapy department. After giving birth, Cheetara had been bedridden for a couple of months until she was able to get moving again. As per the usual cheetah speed however, her recovery had gone quicker than Li-en's. The fusion done by Doctor Pungali was holding well and Li-en was young enough that he was looking forward to being able to get back out into the field.

Suddenly the warning sirens went off across the Lair and poor Lakshmana started wailing. Tygra went to check on the cub and his parents while Cavan kissed Li-en on the cheek before heading out of the Med Bay with Cheetara.

The two reached the control room and were met by most of the rest of the ThunderCats. Lion-O barreled in last however having been mulling over the numbers for the food stores. It had been a long an bleak winter and if a spring thaw didn't come soon, he was worried that they would need to send for food from Third Earth.

"What's going on?" He wanted to know.

"Panthro and Lea are coming in hot! They lost a thruster on the Feliner and they can't land with only one!" Punthar explained.

"Oh they can land but it'll be more like a crash," Snarfer said.


	2. Chapter 2

Meanwhile in the former Caverns of Cold, a familiar ThunderCat foe chuckled, in its entrance. She watched as the Feliner streaked through the sky toward Cat's Lair. From behind her, came another familiar ThunderCat foe but instead of chuckling his teeth were chattering together. He wore a very warm winter suit that was white so he blended into the background of the snow and mountains. His hands were covered in the warmest of winter gloves and he rubbed them together to keep warm. The earmuffs he wore beneath his hood were warm enough to keep his ears from freezing but light enough that he could hear a whisper through them. Despite it all, his better half's new powers had made him feel like he could never get warm.

"What's so funny? It's colder than your nether regions in here," he said through the chattering as he watched the snow fall gently down.

"I thought you liked my nether regions," she smirked as she turned to him.

"You know I do but would it kill you to heat this place up a little?" He asked.

"Stay near the fire beloved. There will be enough of it to go around when the Feliner crashes into the Kitty Cat's Lair," she pointed to the blaze in the distance that was falling from the sky. Before he could respond there was a giant fireball from an explosion which could be seen shaking the buildings nearby from the shockwave.

"Seems our little reconnaissance mission did the trick. Along with the tampering of course," he smirked.

"Indeed. Panthro and Lea are most certainly dead. Now let us get you near the fire. You'll need to keep warm whilst we prepare the next part of the plan. We must capitalize on the mourning of the ThunderCats, especially Lion-O's, if we are to get our revenge," she admitted.

"I have an idea of how you can keep me warm, Chilla, dear," he said smoothly.

"I have to be able to walk once darkness falls, Alluro," she reminded him.

"Well can't we at least work up an appetite?" He leaned in to whisper to her, his lips finding the cool skin of her throat.

"That I can agree to," she moaned, feeling his heat up against her, as his hands began roaming her body. They stumbled back into the cavern quickly finding the bed they shared. It was near the fire but at the moment neither of them cared as Chilla's new found powers had allowed her to stop the winter weather that threatened to freeze Alluro to death. Clothes were stripped off quickly and they commenced in warming each other's' souls.

Later, when darkness fell, the two quickly prepared for the climb to the top of the caverns. It would be a cold trip but the cold never bothered Chilla. It wasn't until she had let Alluro warm her insides that she had been able to access the power from deep within. Her mother had often said that the reason their people were so strong was because of the bond between a man and a woman. Despite the fact that Alluro was not of her kind, they shared a bond that she never shared with any other Lunatak. However, her feelings for her beloved aside, she was still the ruthless, heartless, killer, that had always made her a formidable foe. Both she and Alluro meant to finish what they started before they were sent to Way Outback Island. Their escape had been the stuff of legends, especially since they opted to leave their fellow Lunataks behind. Alluro thought that the others were holding them back and so far he had been right.

"Ready to whip up the storm of the century?" Alluro asked as they exited the mountain top from the hidden paths beneath.

"I'm ready," Chilla smirked before pursing her lips. She swiftly blew her freezing breath at the clouds in the sky and used her hands to whip the snow into a fury. Lightening left her fingertips and pulled the clouds to the whipped up snow. The static from the lightening pulled the two together and when the clouds surrounding them were full to the brim of winter weather, she sucked in the largest breath she could then then blew the storm clouds out over the mountain.

"Let's see how the Thunderkitties like some more snow, wind, and ice," she chuckled.


	3. Chapter 3

The Feliner had actually fallen short of the Lair, thanks to Panthro's quick thinking. Both he and Lea had bailed from the craft when the panther realized it was futile to attempt to land with only one thruster especially since they were having problems with the remaining thrusters and engine. Now a search party was out looking for them while the crews at the Lair tried to put out the fire from the resulting crash.

The fire siren sounded and local fire crews rushed to the scene in an effort to get the fuel put out so it would not spread to the Lair. It was hard to get the foam to extinguish the flames as the temperature was just around the point that the foam would freeze. Still they battled knowing that water would just spread the flames instead of snuffing them.

"BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrr! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrr!" A different siren sounded and Lion-O looked skyward. Heading their way were ominous clouds and wind that whipped the trees around like they were ragdolls. Any civilians that were around quickly scattered to the safety of their homes.

"We need to get this out now!" Lion-O roared to the men fighting the fire nearby.

"Stand back boys! I might be able to create a vortex to get the flames to go out!" Cheetara yelled. That wasn't an option and she knew it. One slip on the ice and not only would the cheetah slip and injure herself she could direct the fire unintentionally. Lion-O went to stop her but he knew that they were out of options. If the wind hit the flames there would be major damage done and lives lost. It was something she would have to try.

With ease, the cheetah picked up speed and began to circle the downed craft which burned with an intensity that rivalled the jet fuel fires on First Earth. Sweat poured down her face and back as she put as much speed as she could into her legs. The vortex began to form and the flames lifted into the air along with the fuel molecules they so desperately needed to continue their dangerous burn.

Lion-O watched as the storm began to roll in. The search team might not have heard the siren and he worried that they would be stuck out there searching for Panthro and Lea. He yelled for everyone to take cover inside and the fire fighters rushed for the open hangar doors, leaving just the King and Queen outside fighting the blaze.

Cheetara had whipped the flames into the vortex and was still trying to put on the gas to gain every ounce of speed she could. Her speed generated heat by itself and the snow was melting under her feet as she ran. This would be the difficult part of the task as the snow melted at different rates, depending on where it was in the path of her feet. Then just as quickly as the flames had started they were gone. Lion-O could hear the whooping and hollering from the hangar and he turned just in time to see Cheetara fall to the ground.

"Tara!" He yelled and raced to her as quickly as he could. When he reached her, he realized that her fur was singed in spots and her clothing was just in tatters. She had worked up such a frenzied atmosphere that the added heat from the fire sustained by the fuel was too much. The sweat cooled on her almost immediately and she was quickly very wet and cold. Lion-O scooped her up and made for the hangar door where he could hear someone shouting for a medic.

"We need to make sure she didn't burn her lungs!" Tygra barked as he watched Lion-O place her onto a stretcher. The two aides ran the cheetah toward the Med Bay and the waiting assistance of Doctor Pungali.

"Where are the search crews?" Tygra asked Lion-O.

"I don't know. I'm not sure if they heard the siren. We need to get out after them," the lion said.

"No, you don't," Ben-Gali said from behind them.

"We have to…" the King started.

"It's too dangerous. That storm is on us and we don't have any more enclosed vehicles. Anyone going out now would freeze to death in minutes. We have to trust that Cavan and Li-en can get Panthro and Lea into the ThunderTank before they get buried," the tiger told him.

"He's right. We'd be risking more lives heading out now. Head to the Med Bay and check up on your wife. I'll be there shortly. Ben, head to the Control Room and contact the Tank," Tygra ordered. With a nod Ben-Gali was turning on his heels and heading for the door.


	4. Chapter 4

"Its fricking freezing out here," Lea managed to say through her chattering teeth. Both the panther and the lioness had their winter suits on but the cold was quickly setting in from their parachuted drop out of the Feliner.

"I know how to warm you up but it would mean taking some clothes off which wouldn't be such a good idea," Panthro smiled as they trudged toward the Lair. They landed about a mile away from their home which in normal conditions would have been a pretty easy walk. Now with the snow piling up and the existing snow on the ground, walking was like trying to move through the Living Ooze, almost impossible.

"Very funny panther. Now I know where your mind wanders," the lioness chuckled.

"Hard not to wander when I have such a beautiful woman by my side," he responded, the snow was now half way up his thighs.

"Well I'd say you're wrong but I am pretty sexy," Lea smirked before rearing her head back and sneezing.

"Oh you definitely are," Panthro chuckled as he watched her do one of the most unladylike things she could do and blow her nose into her glove before wiping said glove in the snow that was almost up to her waist.

"I'm not sure how much more I can go," she admitted. Pushing the mounting snow was hard work and the lioness was always up for a challenge but at the moment she couldn't feel her feet and she was beginning to wonder what she was actually walking on. Panthro stopped and pulled her as close as he could, rubbing her back, trying to keep her body heated.

"We're almost there," he told her. It was a lie and they both knew it. They had somewhere between a half of a mile and three-quarters of a mile to go. The snow was being whipped around now and the visibility was dropping quickly. The lights of the Lair were growing dimmer by the second. Panthro let go of Lea and tried to move forward, knowing they'd get buried if they didn't. He grabbed the lioness's hand and gave it a squeeze. She tried to move but found her legs were not cooperating.

"Did you hear that?" Lea suddenly asked.  _Oh no she's having auditory hallucinations_ , Panthro thought. Though not a symptom of hypothermia, it could be a sign her body was shutting down. Then that's when he heard it too.

"I'd know that sound anywhere!" He crowed. He let out a whoop as the sound that was unmistakably the ThunderTank got louder and soon the lights of the vehicle were visible. The light were gaining on them and that's when both Panthro and Lea realized that the Tank could run them over or blow right past them and not even know it. The engineer desperately tried to think of a way to signal the crew inside the vehicle as it was within a quarter mile of their position.

"Lift me onto your shoulders!" Lea ordered. He nodded and carefully grabbed her shoulders before beginning to pull her out. Luckily her knees were still working and she tried to help him by climbing out of the snow pile. They were running out of time however as the Tank neared them, making the distance about five hundred feet. Panthro pulled the lioness close and braced for impact.

It never came however, as the ThunderTank stopped three feet in front of them. The top opened and Li-en poked his head out.

"Lion-O said there were some crazy Cats out on a nature hike and we had to rescue them!" His joke not missing everyone there.

"I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life!" Panthro exclaimed.

"Present company excluded of course!" Cavan said as she popped up out of the Tank. She quickly threw the end of the winch out to the panther.

"Sending Lea up first!" He announced. The lioness held onto the hook as Li-en operated the controls, pulling her up the front of the Tank and into the back compartment where members of the ThunderGuard medic team were waiting. The hook made its way back to Panthro and the panther was pulled up in the same manner.

"Everyone secure?" Li-en asked.

"Secure," Cavan nodded.

"Then let's roll!" He said.


	5. Chapter 5

Lion-O was sitting in the Med Bay, waiting for news on Cheetara when the ThunderGuard medic team came bursting through the doors with Lea on the first stretcher. Right behind her was Panthro on a stretcher that was being pushed from crew who worked in the hangar.

"How bad is it?" He asked as they rushed past him. Li-en and Cavan stopped to speak with him and give him an update.

"It would appear that they do not have any broken bones. The biggest issue is frostbite which is what they are working on finding out about now," Li-en explained.

"They're going to have to warm them slowly so as to avoid nerve and skin damage," Cavan went a little further.

"Great Jaga's ghost," Lion-O murmured.

"What are you doing down here sire? If you don't mind me asking," Li-en was a little concerned.

"Cheetara used her speed to put the flames out before the wind picked up any further and they are checking on her. The heat of the flames practically melted her clothes off and they're worried about the state of her lungs," the lion heaved a sigh.

"We are very sorry to hear it my Lord," Cavan offered their regrets about the incident.

"Thank you. I can only hope that everyone will be ok. The Feliner should not have malfunctioned and I'm getting the feeling there is something bigger going on here," Lion-O mused.

"And you would be right sire," the voice made the three of them turn to discover a lynx standing next to them. He was Axi, their local weather analyst, and assistant to meteorologist, Doctor Grehek.

"What exactly do you mean?" Lion-O gave him a look.

"Punthar spotted something odd in the pattern of the clouds and called for Doctor Grehek and myself. If you could come to the Control Room, we could show you," Axi explained.

"I'll stay here my Lord and wait for the results of the medical examinations," Cavan offered.

"Thank you. Li-en, with me," Lion-O nodded and gave his orders. The three quickly headed out of the Med Bay and down to the Control Room. Upon entering the room, they could easily spot Doctor Grehek, a white tiger, speaking with his brother tiger, Ben-Gali.

"What have we got?" Lion-O wanted to know.

"My King, we have a very interesting development. The storm seems to have originated from the former Caverns of Cold," Grehek spoke up.

"How is that possible? We hardly ever get weather coming from there, it usually heads there after we get hit first," the lion was confused.

"You are correct sire. The issue seems to be that this storm appeared out of nowhere. We had no radar warning other than the warning that came moments before the wind began to pick up near the edge of the city. I would hazard a guess that this is not something of natural origin especially since the ferocious winds should have pushed the storm through very quickly but instead it persists. At the current rate of accumulation, we could be looking at homes in the lower parts of the city buried within three hours," Grehek explained.

"We need to evacuate everyone we can and bring them into the Lair. Everyone would be safer inside here than perhaps having their homes crushed by the weight of the snow," Lion-O said.

"Agreed. However there is a caution to this tale. If I am correct about this storm being generated by some unnatural force, we could continue to get buried until even the Lair would not be safe," Grehek told them.

"How can that be?" Lion-O looked at him thoroughly confused.

"The snow is falling at an accelerated rate. In three hours, the lower parts of the city will have ten feet of snow. In six hours, the shopping malls, grocery stores, and medical corridor will have seventeen feet of snow. In twelve hours, we could be looking at the Lair being buried under forty feet of snow. If things cannot be slowed, or cleared from roads and structures, we're looking at an extinction level event of all Thunderian life on this planet," the last sentence made everyone in the Control Room stop in their tracks.


	6. Chapter 6

"Surely, you cannot be serious," Lion-O said. The meteorologist was very capable and had helped avert disaster before but this seemed a little out there.

"If nothing in the storm changes, I am afraid so," Grehek confirmed.

"How do we control the weather?" Ben-Gali asked.

"That would be the million dollar question," the meteorologist said.

"The Sword can create lightening but I'm not sure what that would do," Lion-O shrugged.

"Perhaps we should start the evacuations via transport and that will buy us some more time to think," Li-en suggested.

"Agreed," Lion-O nodded before turning to Punthar, who was still at the controls.

"Call for the evacuation of the lower parts of the city. Use the flood emergency signal. Get the ThunderGuard on the move," the lion ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Punthar quickly went about doing as he was told. Those not already busy inside the Lair were rerouted to help with the evacuations and for setting up sleeping areas inside the hangar.

"If the storm is unnatural, then there should be a way to combat it, correct?" Lynx-O spoke up. The older cat had been listening carefully and thinking about the situation.

"In theory, I suppose," Grehek said.

"Well, let us suppose that the storm was created by an enemy of the ThunderCats. Who have we faced that could whip up something like this?" The lynx wanted to know.

"Neither the Mutants nor the Lunataks could do this," Ben-Gali said, unsure of who exactly that left.

"A legitimate question Lynx-O but I'm afraid we don't know of any who would have enough power," Lion-O heaved a sigh.

"Then perhaps a different approach. Fire melts snow and ice does it not?" Lynx-O asked.

"Yes but whatever we throw up at the storm will eventually come down," Ben-Gali said.

"I think I see what Lynx-O means," Grehek told them before having Axi pull up some diagrams on his screen.

"What are you thinking doctor?" Lion-O asked.

"If we could superheat the air at the center of the storm, we could, in effect cause the disruption of the water molecules. They would dry up and without anything but the wind to push it along the storm would no longer produce massive amounts of snow. It would not stop the howling winds but they would wither out on their own eventually," Grehek said.

"They would Doc?" Ben-Gali asked.

"Nothing lasts forever, whether it is magic or mother nature. The real weather fronts that I spoke about should be moving in here to move whatever storm remains in the next few days," his brother white tiger responded.

"We don't have many options anyway. Hopefully the wind will die down on its own. In the meantime, what do we use to superheat the air? I certainly hope you aren't suggesting some sort of nuclear reaction," Lion-O said.

"Nuclear reactions would certainly obliterate the entire storm; however guaranteeing survival of the city and her people would be something that could not be done. Is there something that could heat without going nuclear?" The meteorologist asked.

"I'm afraid this is a little over my head," the lion admitted.

"You think I could talk to Panthro? I have something I want to run by him," Ben-Gali asked.

"Tygra won't stop you once you tell him what's going on," Lion-O said. The tiger nodded and headed out of the door.


	7. Chapter 7

"You want to what?" Panthro gave Ben-Gali a confused look. The tiger had just explained everything to the panther.

"I want to set off a thermonuclear reaction without the nuclear part. Can it be done and can we do it in a hurry?" Ben-Gali asked.

"I know it has to be the frostbite talking but even if such a crazy thing could be done, I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to," Panthro shook his head.

"All right. Would there be a way to create the heat from a thermonuclear bomb without using radioactive materials?" The white tiger pressed.

"You're talking about fusion in regards to a thermonuclear bomb. A nuclear bomb utilizes fission. These reactions require a massive amount of energy and heat; something that cannot be reproduced without the nuclear reaction. We still haven't mastered cold fusion," Panthro pointed out.

"Ok well what would be the hottest bomb that we could produce?" Ben-Gali wanted to know.

"A standard warhead attached to liquid fuel would probably be it. We don't use a lot of those kinds of weapons. I know I don't have a standard warhead lying around," the panther said.

"Let me worry about that," the tiger smiled. He stood, thanked Panthro for his help, and headed back out of the Med Bay. He was stopped short by Tygra.

"Can you give Lion-O and update on our patients?" He asked.

"Sure. I'm going to fill him in on Panthro's idea and then I have to get to work," Ben-Gali said.

"Very good. Both Panthro and Lea are suffering from frostbite, scrapes, cuts, and bruises. I don't think they're in danger of losing any extremities but I'm slowly warming them to be on the safe side. Cheetara has burns on her body but so far her breathing doesn't seem to be impaired. We're running more tests to see what her internal organs look like and treating her exterior. She's in pain but we've gotten that under control with medicine," the orange tiger explained.

"How bad are the burns?" Ben-Gali wanted to know.

"Seems the uniform took the brunt of it but there are still some which her clothing stuck to. That's probably the worst of it," Tygra said. Ben-Gali grimaced before saying good bye to the older tiger and heading to the Control Room.

Meanwhile, Chilla and Alluro pondered their next move. They had seen the Feliner crash short of the Lair but both figured that the explosion had still killed Panthro and Lea. The storm that Chilla had conjured was doing what she expected it to do and they could see the activity in the city as evacuations toward the Lair had begun.

"Once the snow buries them, how do you want to proceed? There are so many options," Alluro pointed out before taking another spoonful of stew. Chilla had been pacing, instead of eating, and she stopped at his question.

"I suppose the next move would be to attack Third Earth. It is their last stronghold. If we intend to eliminate all Thunderians; that would be the only place they remain," she said.

"True but wouldn't it look suspicious to the Evil Chasers if Third Earth should suddenly suffer the same fate?" He wondered.

"Perhaps but what proof would they have? They'll be too busy cleaning up kitty-popsicles to be wondering about how this all happened," she argued.

"Oh no arguments there. Why don't we focus on getting Lion-O's head for the Mutant High Command's wall?" Alluro suggested.

"In the morning, we'll make our move. They'll be buried by then," Chilla gave him a wink.


	8. Chapter 8

An hour or so later, Lion-O stood next to Ben-Gali who, with the help of others in the hangar, was loading the rocket which he'd strapped liquid fuel containers to onto a makeshift transport. The missile was to be loaded into a cargo transport and then flown up to a prescribed height which Doctor Grehek figured out and dropped into the storm cloud.

"What poor bastard has to fly that transport up there? Those aren't meant for leaving the atmosphere and you'll be pretty close considering the number that Grehek gave," Lion-O pointed out.

"Well if we had more time, I would have rigged some sort of remote control but autopilot will have to do. Once on its prescribed course, the rider can bail out, if something goes awry," Ben-Gali explained. The loss of the transport would not be a big deal but the pilot was another matter.

"Should we draw straws?" Li-en asked.

"That won't be necessary. I'll do it. I'm the most trained in bailing out," the white tiger said. Immediately, more than one Cat objected.

"You just had a baby!" One of them reminded him.

"You're too important to the ThunderCats!" Another said.

"I will go," Li-en said.

"Absolutely not! I'm not going to put anyone else in jeopardy. This is my idea and if it goes sideways, I'd never forgive myself. We don't even know if this will work and Lion-O is going to need as many of you as he can have to help keep the lair from getting buried. It's settled. I'm going. Now get this thing loaded up. I'm going to get my gear on," Ben-Gali told them. With that the tiger headed for the locker-room. The others quickly did as they were told, leaving Li-en and Lion-O alone.

"Can we let him do this?" Li-en turned to Lion-O.

"I've never been able to convince him not to do something," Lion-O gave him a slight smile.

"But Pumyra and the baby," Li-en said.

"He's doing it for them, for you and Cavan and the twins, for me and Cheetara and our kids. He's doing what he feels is right. I can't and won't fault him for that," the King told him.

"I don't fault him but surely I could go in his place. My children at least know me. Little Lakshmana won't," Li-en protested.

"You are a very brave Cat, Li-en. Let Ben-Gali do what he must. He is right, should this go sideways, I will need you to help me," Lion-O clapped a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze before heading off to wish the white tiger luck. The liger had a look of determination in his eyes. Despite every fiber of his being telling him to do what his King said, he could not sit by and let the chance that Ben-Gali could die exist. He whirled on his heels and headed toward the crew that was loading the missile.

"I want final checks run on this bucket of bolts immediately! Lord Ben-Gali not coming home is not an option!" He barked before heading to the med kit. There was something he needed in there.

"Sir, yes sir!" The mechanics agreed. They quickly got to work as the white tiger headed their way.

"You have your parachute?" Li-en asked.

"Hopefully I won't have to use it," Ben-Gali chuckled nervously.

"With any luck," the liger agreed.

"The ship is ready to go sir," one of the mechanics said.

"Excellent. Thank you all for your help. I'll see you when I get back," Ben-Gali smiled.

"No you won't. You won't be leaving," Li-en stabbed the needle into the white tiger's neck and injected the dose of tranquilizer that it held. Ben-Gali looked at him confused.

"It's for your own good my friend. Yours and Pumyra's and little Lakshmana's," Li-en said. The crew stood there and did nothing to stop the liger who quickly boarded the ship and put on his gear.

"No one saw anything. I did this all on my own," he told them.

"Sir yes sir!" The crew nodded, scooped Ben-Gali up, and let the liger get the ship out of the hangar.


	9. Chapter 9

"Ship is away. All systems are functioning," Punthar reported from his seat in the Control Room.

"Excellent. I hope this works Doctor Grehek," Lion-O said from his spot behind Punthar. The lion's eyes never left the screen as the transport headed for its designated point.

"It's never been tried by anyone across history, but my guess is that that storm isn't natural, so we must try," the meteorologist told him.

"That's our first order of business when this is all over. Someone is playing a dangerous game and we seem to be the target," the King narrowed his eyes.

"Indeed sire," Grehek nodded.

"Lord Ben-Gali, do you read? How is everything holding together?" Punthar asked into the radio. He got no response.

"Lord Ben-Gali, this is Cat's Lair. Come in, please," the puma tried again. Silence followed.

"Try another frequency. Sometimes those transports get on the wrong one," Lion-O said.

"Would Lord Ben-Gali be that sloppy?" Grehek asked.

"No, but he does have a lot to deal with," the lion admitted.

"All hailing frequencies are open and being used. I still get no response," Punthar relayed.

"I don't like it. How's his progress?" Lion-O wanted to know.

"Holding steady on course and gaining altitude. No signs anything is going wrong," the puma explained.

"Yeah and Panthro and Lea were perfectly fine until the Feliner decided to break. I want the rescue teams at the ready," Lion-O ordered.

"Yes, sire," Punthar nodded and radioed to the rescue squads waiting in the hangar. Lion-O kept his eyes on the screen when he heard Punthar say,

"We have a problem." He turned to the puma and gave him a look; not exactly sure what else could be going wrong.

Meanwhile, Li-en had shut off the radio and was piloting the ship as best he could before engaging the autopilot. He then quickly headed back to the bomb bay doors. Ice was starting to form on the inside of the doors and he grabbed the manual override and forced the doors open. It would slow his ascent but if they froze shut, it wouldn't matter. He imagined by now that Ben-Gali had been discovered but he figured there was little those on the ground would do now. He headed back to the controls and cranked the heater.

Going into his cold weather suit, he pulled out a picture of Cavan and the twins, Liam and Fiona. Giving them a quick kiss, he then carefully stowed the photo back inside the safety of his suit. Then he checked the altimeter and saw he was approaching the end of the range usually allowed for the transport. His eyes then darted to the second altimeter which was picking up the slack.

"Almost there. Had better get the bomb into place," he said to himself. He left his seat again and went back toward the bomb bay doors. It was then that he noticed one was completely frozen and the hinge would not hold for much longer. Pushing the thought from his mind, he grabbed the stand that the missile was on and quickly switched on the countdown function. It started at one minute and began to creep toward where he needed it. At thirty seconds, he was to push it out of the craft and then rush to the controls and try to speed the transport up to get away. The extra time on the timer had been added to make sure that at those temperatures, it would still work.

Alarms sounded as the ship passed the height it was built for and then continued on.  _45… 44… 43…_  the missile counted. Li-en slowly moved the stand and prepared for the drop.

 _32… 31… 30…_  he pushed the stand and it moved toward the bomb bay doors. More alarms sounded but he ignored them as he watched the missile leave the ship. Seeing it was finally clear of the ship, he raced back to the controls and switched off the autopilot. That's when he realized the second alarm was that the controls were freezing. The heater had malfunctioned and now the heat he felt was from the electrical fire that had started. He ignored the fire and grabbed the yoke, which was used as back up, if the electrical controls failed. He pulled up and to the right. That's when he heard the explosion of the missile. The shockwave hit the transport at the speed of lightening and shrapnel embedded itself into the hull of the ship. Another alarm sounded, telling him the fuel tank was ruptured. He ignored the pain that had started in his side and the feeling of blood soaking his uniform and tried to punch the autopilot back in. it did not respond. He knew he couldn't jump from the ship, uncertain of where it would land. Aiming the yoke down, he tried with all his might to get the nose of the craft downward. Thankfully it responded. He knew soon that he would begin a free fall without fuel.

"May Cavan and the children forgive me," he said.


	10. Chapter 10

"Sire! The missile went off but something is wrong with the transport! She's dropping like a rock and she's on fire!" Punthar announced.

"Damn! Is there any way we can help?" Lion-O asked.

"I'm afraid not, Sire. Though I am able to monitor the transport, I cannot control anything on it," the puma said.

"Send the trajectory to the rescue teams and someone get Cavan up here now!" Lion-O ordered. Someone made the announcement for the puma to report immediately to the Control Room. The King clenched his fists. The liger's sense of duty and friendship was admirable but now Lion-O feared it had gotten him killed. The lion was angry that Li-en had not only disobeyed a direct order but had also accosted Ben-Gali but there would be time to worry about his anger later, should the liger survive.

"What's going on?" Cavan asked as she entered the Control Room. Lion-O turned to her and told her the bad news,

"Li-en took Ben-Gali's place on the mission and now the transport seems to have lost all control." The puma looked shell-shocked.

"He didn't tell you he was going on the mission?" Lion-O asked.

"I'd have shot him if he did," she murmured and turned an unhealthy shade of white. Axi grabbed her and helped her to a chair.

"Are you all right?" The lynx asked. It sounded like a silly question given the news she'd just received but Axi felt there was something else going on.

"I'm pregnant," she murmured. Lion-O almost hit the floor. There was no doubt that Li-en did not know because if he did the lion guessed he would not have done what he did, especially given the argument he'd made in private with him.

"Sire! The transport has entered the standard operation range! I'm trying to contact it now!" Punthar announced and the lion turned back to the screen. He could see a little red icon in the corner of the screen indicating that the internal fire suppression systems had been deployed. Then the radio suddenly crackled to life.

"I've got no electrical or hydraulic control but the fire is out, which saved the radio. I've lost thrusters one and three. I'm coming in too hot," Li-en relayed.

"Have you tried to manually reboot the thrusters?" Punthar asked.

"Not responding to any attempts at restart. The shrapnel from the missile must have damaged more than I originally thought. I'm almost out of fuel," the liger said.

"Eject and we'll pick you up," Punthar told him.

"Negative. This pig is going to land on the Lair. Can't risk letting go of the yoke. It's the only way to try and steer. I'm not even sure how its working considering all other hydraulics are gone. Tell my family I love them," Li-en replied.

"Tell them yourself when you land. Eject now! That is a direct order!" Punthar commanded. He technically had no standing over the ThunderCat but he had to try.

"Eject now! Aiming cannons on target!" The cannons were aimed but Li-en did not respond. Punthar tried again.

"Eject now Li-en!" The puma ordered. He received silence over the radio, the controls finally failing on that as well. Punthar watched as the ship neared the Lair, the yoke finally giving out.

"Fire!" Lion-O ordered, praying to the Thunderian Gods that the liger had jumped when commanded, if not he'd just ordered the death of a ThunderCat. Punthar pushed the button and the cannons fired. Their intended target exploded in mid-air but not far enough away from the Lair as the shrapnel rained down, impaling itself into the building.

In the former Caverns of Cold, both Alluro and Chilla stood at the entrance to cave where they'd been hiding. The first explosion had shaken them from their sleep and now the second explosion that had followed made them wonder what was going on.

"The snow has stopped!" Chilla hissed.

"How'd they counteract your powers?" Alluro asked.

"I don't know but I intend to find out!" With that Chilla forgot about sleeping and left the safety of the cave. Alluro quickly followed her.


	11. Chapter 11

"I want the damage to the Lair assessed and I want to know if Li-en is still with us and I want answers now!" Lion-O was angry at what had transpired. He hoped that the liger was still alive just so he could yell at him. The room was quickly emptied of all non-essential personnel who headed out into the now calm weather to check the damage.

Punthar was scanning for any signs of an emergency beacon or parachute but he wasn't picking anything up. He was frustrated but he was most certainly not giving up on Li-en just yet. Then something bleeped on the screen.

"I've got an emergency beacon!" He shouted before quickly relaying the coordinates to the rescue teams who left the Lair as soon as they got the numbers.

"Thank Jaga," Cavan said, she stood up but was still wobbly on her legs, and Lion-O helped her to the screen.

"What does it say?" She asked Punthar.

"Low body temperature and breathing is shallow," he swallowed; it was not exactly the news they were hoping for.

"How bad is he hurt?" Cavan wanted to know.

"The device doesn't tell me that, only that it's still reading life in the person in the suit it's attached to. The rescue team is only about two minutes out," the puma hoped to reassure her with the last part.

"Axi, please escort Cavan down to the Med Bay. She can be the first one to yell at Li-en when they bring him in," Lion-O said.

"Sire," the lynx nodded before gently pulling the puma toward the door of the Control Room. When she had gone, Lynx-O took the opportunity to pull Lion-O aside.

"I'll not defend what our young friend did in order to save all of New Thundera but I think it is important you keep his state of mind in your own mind when deciding what to do with him," the elder cat said. Lion-O was confused and voiced his confusion for his friend,

"What do you mean?"

"Li-en has dreamed of becoming a ThunderCat. He loves working for Panthro and with his beautiful wife. Mumm-Ra took that away from him when he sicked his minions on him. In his view, Li-en not only failed to protect Cavan from the evil that attacked them but he was also unable to prevent the bodysnatching that occurred to Lea or help Panthro. To top it all off, his injuries stripped him from being on active duty until spring time. He is not thinking clearly, all he is thinking is that he's become a burden on everyone and cannot help protect the people and the home he cares most for," Lynx-O explained.

"You know this for a fact? Lion-O asked.

"It is the same way Ben-Gali felt when we left Thundera. Pumyra is a strong woman and she has dealt with a lot but not even she could stop herself from crying as we flew away from the home we all knew and loved. She lost the only family she had and she could not take it. Ben did his best to comfort her despite his own pain but what do you say to someone who has lost everything? There are no words. Still he felt helpless. I felt even more so, given my own new condition. No matter what we wish that our loved ones are happy and we to make them so," the lynx said.

"Thank you old friend. I am always glad for your council and wisdom," Lion-O told him.

"You are quite welcome my King," Lynx-O smiled.

"So Ben's been in love with Pumyra for a long time, huh?" The lion wondered.

"You'd have to be blind not to see it," the lynx laughed at his own joke. Lion-O chuckled a little as well. Their brief happy moment was interrupted by Punthar, who said,

"I hate to interrupt my King but you're needed down in the Med Bay."

"What's happened?" Lion-O wanted to know.

"Li-en is in bad shape. Tygra and Doctor Pungali are working to save him but he just flat lined on the operating table," Punthar explained.

"Great Jaga's ghost," Lion-O frowned.


	12. Chapter 12

The commotion in the other rooms outside her own compelled her to rise from the bed she was supposed to be staying in. Something made her get up and something willed her to move into the hallway. She was ignored at first, everyone running to help someone else who was in much greater danger than herself. The pain had subsided but she knew that more was coming as the medicine was wearing off and she could swear she could feel the hair all over her body hurt.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Nurse Ling was flabbergasted to see the cheetah out of bed.

"Something isn't right…" her sixth sense was really firing up despite the cloudy haze of the medicine.

"We're having a bit of a rough day but nothing we can't handle. Now back to bed with you. Leo and Sahara need you better sooner rather than later," Ling motioned for an aide to bring a wheelchair.

"No. There's something wrong…" Cheetara tried again but the nurse wasn't having any of it.

"Yeah, you're not in bed. Just because you're Queen doesn't mean you can ignore my orders. Now…" the nurse didn't get a chance to finish as the Lair shook.

"Told you," the cheetah smirked despite what was going on.

"Get her back in bed," Ling barked. The aide nodded and quickly moved the cheetah back to her room. The nurse quickly ran to check on her other patients, hoping those in the Control Room had control over what was going on outside.

Meanwhile, Lion-O and Lynx-O had just left the Med Bay. They had spent the last forty minutes waiting to hear news of Li-en's condition. He had died twice on the table. The cold had slowed the bleeding from the wound in his side but in an effort to try and close it up without raising his body temperature up, the liger's heart was put at risk. He was still not one hundred percent from his previous injuries and that was certainly not helping matters. Tygra and Doctor Pungali had managed to get him stabilized and closed up but now the process of slowly warming Li-en's body would begin. It would take a while and that is why the senior ThunderCats were leaving.

"What's going on?" Lion-O asked as he and Lynx-O entered the Control Room.

"Nothing good, Sire," Punthar pointed to the screen and on it was definitely someone they all recognized. The two Lunataks were blasting the Lair, Chilla with her winter breath and Alluro with a blaster he favored. It would not break the Lair's hard skin but it would certainly get their attention inside.

"How in the name of Jaga?" Lion-O was certainly confused.

"You'll have to fill me in," Lynx-O reminded him.

"It's Chilla and Alluro," the lion said.

"Yes and I'm going to get my sight back any second now," the lynx shook his head.

"I'm not making this up," Lion-O argued.

"What are they doing here and what do they want?" Lynx-O asked. Punthar turned on the outdoor speaker system.

"Step away from the Lair or be disintegrated!" He barked. Chilla looked at Alluro for a moment and they stopped blasting.

"Since when did the ThunderCats grow a set? Give us Lion-O and no one else has to die!" Chilla retorted.

"Why would we do that? It's the two of you against a Lair full of ThunderCats?" Punthar challenged.

"You're funeral," Chilla smirked. She raised her arms above her head and lightening shot down from the sky, wrapping around her forearms. Everyone in the Control Room watched as she conjured up a storm right in front of their eyes.

"Sweet Jaga's toothbrush," Lion-O murmured.


	13. Chapter 13

Ben-Gali burst into the Control Room just as Punthar and the crew at the controls were lining up the laser cannons. He didn't get a word in edge-wise before they fired. Alluro jumped back but Chilla didn't move, very intent on the task she was trying to accomplish. One of the beams struck the Lunatak down near her ankle and she howled in pain. Her focus broken, she crumpled to the ground and Alluro rushed to her aid.

At that moment, thirty ThunderGuard soldiers burst through the front door with Lion-O, Lynx-O, and Ben-Gali in tow. They quickly surrounded the two Lunataks and Lion-O shouted to them,

"Surrender!" Alluro looked up, moving his body out of the way enough that everyone could see the damage done to Chilla. The ice queen was losing blood fast, her foot practically torn off. He made a move for his mind-controlling staff.

"Ho!" Lion-O held the Sword of Omens out and it blasted the staff away from him.

"I'll not say it again. Surrender or face the consequences!" Lion-O barked; the Sword of Omens leveled at Alluro's face. This time the Lunatak acquiesced and ten of the ThunderGuard moved in quickly to arrest him.

"Get Chilla to the Med Bay! I want Tygra helping her and I want her strapped down to the gurney. These two will not cause trouble while they are in our custody!" Lion-O ordered. The remainder of the troops split up to retrieve a stretcher and to stabilize Chilla. She was quickly escorted down to the Med Bay where Tygra was waiting for them. He sedated her and got to work.

"I want fifteen men on her at all times. You make sure she can't do anything. Once the surgery is complete, I want her strapped down to a bed. I'm putting in a call to Mandora," Lion-O ordered.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The troops quickly saluted and the lion nodded before heading toward the door.

"King Lion-O!" He froze in his tracks and was soon confronted by the person who wished to make him hear what they had to say.

"What is it Nurse Ling?" The lion was suddenly concerned that what she had to say dealt with his wife.

"Queen Cheetara's sixth sense is continually bothering her. She won't sit still and she keeps trying to get out of bed. I can't make her listen to me," the nurse told him. Lion-O frowned and then turned to Lynx-O who was catching Ben-Gali up on what had happened.

"Lynx-O, see if you can help Cheetara. I need to call Mandora and let her know our situation. We're in for a long night," Lion-O shook his head.

"On it," the lynx nodded before having Nurse Ling help him to the Queen's room.

"We're going to need all hands…" Ben-Gali didn't finish the thought as Panthro and Lea walked up to them.

"I highly doubt Tygra released you from his care," Lion-O raised an eyebrow.

"Well the second I heard there were Lunataks on the loose, I figured I'd laid around long enough," Panthro said.

"I'm not sure I know what a Lunatak is but where he goes, I go," Lea told them.

"All right, with me. We've got to make sure there aren't any more of them and call Mandora. We're going to need to know how those two escaped," Lion-O said. The group agreed and quickly walked back out of the Med Bay.


	14. Chapter 14

"You want to run that by me again?" Mandora sounded confused, not a state the Evil Chaser was used to being in.

"We have Chilla and Alluro in our custody and somehow Chilla has learned how to control the weather. That's the short end of it," Lion-O said via the video call which they were holding in the Control Room.

"I hate to say it but you guys are magnets for Evil. First Mumm-Ra and now those two? It only makes the situation worse to know that I have not received any word from Way Outback Island saying that there are two Lunataks on the loose," she shook her head.

"I agree. Is there any chance that they freed Luna, Amok, Tug Mug, or Redeye?" The lion wondered.

"Oh my guess is that they didn't bother otherwise you'd be up to your asses in Lunataks right now," Mandora pointed out.

"That's what I thought but I figured I'd ask you. What should we do with them?" Lion-O asked.

"I'm coming out there with a squadron. Once I get off with you, I'm making some phone calls to Way Outback," Mandora heaved a sigh.

"Probably not a bad idea. We'll hunker down until you arrive," Lion-O nodded.

"Good. See you by noon tomorrow," the Evil Chaser told him before hanging up. The lion turned to his ThunderCats and said,

"We need both of them under heavy guard. I'm not taking any chances."

"Understandable but I think we need to look at the bigger picture here," Panthro spoke up. They all turned and gave him a look.

"These two were hell bent on destroying us. My guess is that they tampered with the Feliner and that Chilla used her new found powers to try and bury us in snow but why?" He clarified.

"You're thinking someone freed them and then sent them here for a specific purpose?" Ben-Gali was beginning to see what he was getting at.

"Well look at it from their prospective. You've escaped Way Outback and your first thought is to come here? Wouldn't you run as far away as you could? Heck even try to go back to your own planet first?" Panthro questioned.

"Well we never said the Lunataks were the brightest bunch," Lion-O smirked.

"That's a given but still…" Ben-Gali was with Panthro.

"Someone told them to come here and we need to find out why," the panther said.

"Agreed," Lynx-O spoke up as he walked thru the door, pushing Cheetara in a wheelchair. Lion-O rushed over and looked at the cheetah.

"I thought Nurse Ling said you should be in bed," he said.

"Can't. My sixth sense is really not handling something well," she was squinting and his guess was that the pain in her head was too much for her.  _Why is the Sword not responding? Shouldn't I be getting the same warning?_  Lion-O wondered to himself. He didn't have much time to think of anything else when the Sword growled and the Lair shook.

"What the hell?" Panthro clenched his fist.

"Check the prisoners! Punthar pull outside up on the monitors!" Lion-O ordered before grabbing the Sword and calling for it to reveal the warning it had issued.

"Avalanche!" Punthar shouted.


	15. Chapter 15

While they had managed to stop Chilla from conjuring up another storm they had failed to realize that the amount of snow that had already fallen on the area including the not so distant mountains. The activity at the Lair had been loud and concussive; now the ground shook as the mountains let loose the heavy load of snow and it barreled toward the capital and the Lair. They watched in horror as it spread quickly and gained momentum.

"We can't stop it but anything in its path could be destroyed," Doctor Grehek said breaking them from their momentary pause.

"Seal the gates and sound the emergency alarm! We'll need to be able to get out of here to help dig people out!" Lion-O ordered and Punthar quickly sounded the alarm and closed all the main doors to the Lair. He then dropped the reinforced steel plates over the doors and they watched helplessly as the snow encroached upon the city. Those in the lower parts of the city had already been evacuated but those that were on higher ground had not been. Helplessly, they watched as homes were covered in snow and the Cats inside were encased with snow. Finally, just as it was reaching the Lair, the avalanche ran out of steam. It buried the front door and stopped.

"I want every able bodied Cat who isn't guarding the prisoners heading for the hangar! We need to get people out of their homes and into the Lair!" Lion-O ordered. Punthar signaled the all clear and then he signaled for a call to arms. He gave instructions over the Lair intercom and soldiers and civilians alike rushed to hear their next instructions down at the hangar. The Control Room then emptied except necessary personnel to run things from inside.

"Thank you all for rushing down here. We need to help those that were just buried by the avalanche. I want teams of eight civilians and three ThunderGuard into each transport. You will be given shovels and other digging equipment so that we can try to reach everyone. I will be sending out plows to clear what they can from the roads so that we can get dump trucks in to haul the snow away. Anyone with medical training, please report to Ben-Gali. Anyone with flying transports, please report to Panthro. Everyone else, bundle up and get in line for immediate loading of the transports. Thank you," Lion-O made the announcement and the hangar was a buzz with activity. The King quickly made his way to the main door where he'd seen two ThunderCats he needed to talk to.

"Ladies, ordinarily I would expect you to help us but I can't ask that of you right now. Please return to the Med Bay," the lion said, as he stopped the pumas.

"Oh we're helping," Pumyra told him.

"You just had a baby. You should be resting. Cavan, you are on light duty and you know why," Lion-O protested. Pumyra turned to her young friend and gave her a look. She had obviously been left out of the loop.

"Panthro and Lea are helping. We're helping," Cavan argued.

"I'm not having the two of you get yourselves hurt. You can help here with the wounded being brought in and kicking Li-en's butt before I do," he told them. They both looked like they were going to object but didn't. They would be needed in the Med Bay so they nodded and headed back from whence they came. Lion-O then turned, found his winter weather body gear, and headed for the last transport.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adult inferences and language in this chapter, please be advised.

Mandora arrived with her squadron as promised the next day to find that the ThunderCats were dealing with another crisis. She quickly enlisted her fellow Evil Chasers and they worked to help get everyone out. It was well into the evening when the last house had been cleared and the group called it quits as the temperatures once again dropped below the freezing mark.

"Sweet Jaga's toothbrush," Lion-O heaved a sigh as he collapsed in chair in the dining room. Snarf quickly brought him some of his famous hot chocolate and then disappeared to get the lion some food. Ships from Third Earth where en route with fresh food, medical supplies, and some more troops to help spell those who had been exhausted. All communication with the other planets of the galaxy had been severed until they could figure out what the Lunataks had in mind. Alluro hadn't been talking except to ask about Chilla and vice versa. Tygra had been able to save Chilla's foot and surprisingly the Lunatak had been thankful.

"You want the skinny on what is going on or should you maybe fill me in on what happened after we got off the phone first?" Mandora asked as she collapsed into a nearby chair as well. Snarf was out in a hurry with another cup of his famous hot chocolate.

"We had an avalanche. Not sure what else there is to it," Lion-O admitted.

"What's the casualty count?" Mandora wanted to know.

"There are thirty missing and presumed dead. We've got sixty that were admitted to the hospital along with fifteen who aren't well enough to be transported to the hospital. The remainder have bumps, bruises, broken bones, and frostbite. Everyone who lives on the other side of the Lair never saw any of the avalanche so we're thankful for that. It could have been a lot worse," he told her.

"Agreed. How many do you have here in the Lair?" Mandora asked.

"We have about three hundred who are going to be transported to nearby shelters in the morning. That leaves about two hundred still under medical care who are slowly going to be getting shuttled to the hospital in the morning, minus those fifteen of course," Lion-O shook his head.

"Not bad. Out of almost six hundred Cats you only lost thirty. It most definitely could have been worse," she nodded and sipped her hot cocoa. Snarf brought out two trays of his famous meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans.

"This is the last of it until we get those ships from Third Earth. I'm out of potatoes, green beans, and bread crumbs, along with a whole bunch of other things. Snarf, snarf," the little creature said.

"Well then I will savor it before I go to check on the kids," Lion-O gave a slight smile.

"I put them to bed two hours ago. You should go check on your wife," Snarf gave him a look. The lion looked up at the clock and realized that it was almost ten pm.

"Good grief," he shook his head.

"Thanks Snarf. This looks fabulous," Mandora smiled.

"You're quite welcome Mandora," Snarf smiled and then left the two to talk some more. The Evil Chaser took a few bites of food and smiled. Snarf was certainly a wizard in the kitchen.

"So what have you found out?" Lion-O asked, after almost inhaling his potatoes.

"Turns out that Chilla and Alluro broke themselves out of Way Outback Island. The planet had been on lockdown hoping they'd find them before they escaped but I told them they were sadly mistaken. They claim the only way those two got away was with help. I have Evil Chasers en route to see if they can't find out what happened in more detail," Mandora explained.

"Someone helped them get here but didn't stick around?" The lion was sure there had to be more to it.

"Scuttlebutt from my informants tells me that the Mutant High Council has you on their hit list. My guess is that they told Alluro and Chilla they would be free from Way Outback and could return to the moons of Plundarr if they killed you and brought proof," the Evil Chaser continued.

"Payback seems like a great motive. What about Chilla's enhanced powers?" Lion-O wanted to know.

"Seems that Chilla's people have powers but they can't unlock them until they thaw their hearts," Mandora said.

"How does one do that?" He was almost afraid to ask.

"By falling in love and becoming one with another of their species. That's the delicate way of putting it," she explained. Lion-O had a confused look on his face so she clarified.

"Schtooping another Lunatak." At that Lion-O almost barfed.

"That's just wrong on so many levels," he said.

"What? You think just because they are Lunataks, they don't procreate? I mean they have to do something to keep the species going," Mandora said.

"Yeah but the fact of the matter is, Alluro must be the one schtooping Chilla," he said.

"My guess it is more than just the casual relationship as the term implies if her powers really have grown that much. Has Alluro shown any signs of increased powers?" She wanted to know.

"We didn't let him try. Why? What are you thinking?" Lion-O raised an eyebrow.

"If they were mated then Alluro wouldn't need his staff to control people's minds, just Chilla's nether regions," she smirked at her own joke.

"Ok well they must not have been because Alluro hasn't tried to do anything without that crazy staff of his," Lion-O told her.

"Good. Then in the morning we conk them over the head with what we know and see what it gets us," Mandora winked.


	17. Chapter 17

"The jig is up Lunatak. Tell me who sent you and maybe just maybe you'll see the light of day again," Mandora said to Chilla. The Evil Chaser was interrogating her in the prison section of the Med Bay. Guards stood on the other side of the door, ready at a moment's notice to aid Mandora should she need it.

"You'll have to do better than that if I'm going to help you pig," Chilla hissed at her.

"Can't. Technically the ThunderCats have jurisdiction and could try you for the murder of thirty of their citizens which when you're found guilty, carries the death penalty. Trust me Lunatak, you'll get it. So if you want to keep breathing, I suggest you start talking," Mandora knew she had Chilla in a bind and she hoped that it would soften her up.

"What difference does it make? My guess is that the ThunderCats will be more merciful in the way they kill me," Chilla told her.

"So the guys who set you free have no intentions to leave you alive do they?" The Evil Chaser asked, knowing the answer already.

"Well as they say, death is only the beginning," the Lunatak confirmed it.

"Are there others in danger besides you and Alluro?" Mandora pressed.

"Not if I'm dead there isn't," Chilla said.

"Then why were you so grateful to Tygra for saving your foot? You can't tell me your biggest ambition in life was to lead a life of crime and then die for your crimes," the blonde gave her a look, not sure what she was getting at.

"Because for a foolish moment I thought I'd be getting to use it but since you're here, the truth will get out and those who have sent me will look to punish my failure," Chilla shook her head.

"So then help me and the ThunderCats will turn you over to me for safe keeping. We can help each other and like I said, maybe, just maybe, you'll get out of prison someday," Mandora pressed. Chilla gave her a look and then she looked at her lap, as if contemplating her options.

"Fine I'll help you but you have to save my sister and her family first. She chose an honest life and should not be punished for my wicked ways," Chilla finally broke down. Mandora was surprised considering that never before had a Lunatak agreed to work with the Evil Chasers. She had to give her the option however and was now glad she took it.

"I can get them off of their Plundarrian ice-moon but you need to tell me the whole story, including why you've gone soft," Mandora told her.

"Soft? I'm hardly soft," Chilla narrowed her eyes at the Evil Chaser.

"Does that come from your head or your heart? You and I both know that you and Alluro have been up to some extracurricular activities that involve sweating up the sheets, otherwise you wouldn't have the capabilities you do. Did that come out of necessity or is there really love there?" Mandora pressed, beginning to wonder if the Lunatak had been forced to do things against her will. The Mutant Council had a way of making threats that would turn even the most steadfast and brutal Plundarrian into a blubbering ball of goo. Chilla was hesitating when there was a knock on the door. The blonde moved toward the door and opened it, surprised to find Lion-O on the other side as he was supposed to be interrogating Alluro.

"You're going to want to hear this," he said. Mandora gave him a look and then turned to Chilla,

"You think about it and I'll be right back." With that the blonde closed the door and followed Lion-O down to Tygra's office.


	18. Chapter 18

"What's going on?" Mandora wanted to know after Tygra shut the door on his office. Lion-O had been downstairs interrogating Alluro so the Evil Chaser was thinking that something big must have happened for him to come up from his own interrogation.

"After we took custody of the Lunataks, I made sure to body scan them both. Of course with the medical emergency and then ensuing trouble with Li-en and the avalanche, I am just now getting to the results," the tiger said.

"Is there something we should know?" Lion-O raised an eyebrow. Usually Tygra would just spit it out but he seemed to be holding back. Perhaps it was just because he was trying to process what he knew.

"Two things actually," Tygra paused and then moved to the large screen near his desk. He turned it on and then pulled up the body scans.

"Is that what I think it is?" Mandora wanted to know.

"These two areas that I circled seem to indicate that both Alluro and Chilla have chips embedded under their skin. I don't know what they do but I'm willing to bet they aren't there for fun," the tiger explained.  
"Great Jaga's ghost. We should get those chips out. The Mutants have been known to put in kill switches into unwilling participants," Lion-O said.

"I would agree that that would be a safe assumption. Despite the hatred between ThunderCat and Lunatak, no one deserves to die that way," Tygra shook his head.

"I thought the kill switches were little bombs that they implanted in the brain," Mandora was a little confused.

"That is one kind they've been known to use. The other contains a deadly poison that only the Mutants know what it is. It has no cure and kills the implant's inhabitant slowly and by slowly I mean it takes twelve hours for the patient to die and all doctors can do is watch," Tygra finished.

"Good Lord," Mandora shook her head.

"That is why I think we need to remove them. The sooner we do, the more open the two of them might be," the tiger pointed out.

"I would agree as Chilla was already on the brink of confessing something. She's not being entirely truthful with me although how truthful can a Lunatak be?" The Evil Chaser sighed.

"Alluro hasn't been truthful either but you make a good point Mandora. We have never been able to trust them as far as we can throw them. Still he seems to be worried about Chilla which is odd," Lion-O was uncertain of just what the game was.

"I might have an answer to that. The body scan also revealed that Chilla is eating for two," Tygra zoomed in on the scan and showed them the second circled area.

"Her blood test results confirm it," he added.

"Oh boy," Mandora said.

"Oh boy is right," Lion-O couldn't believe it. Tygra was about to get into more detail when there was a knock on his door. He opened it to find Cheetara standing there. The cheetah should not have been on her feet just yet.

"Tara! I thought the nurses said no physical activity until those burns heal," Lion-O gingerly scooped her up and got her into a chair.

"I had to come and find you. My sixth sense is all over the place again. I can't even close my eyes to get some sleep without images flashing before me," the cheetah explained.

"That's very odd. There must be a disturbance though as the Sword never warned me about the avalanche or the impending Lunatak attack," Lion-O shook his head as he looked his wife over.

"The Sword didn't pick up on it because the Lunataks didn't want to attack you. It sounds weird I know but something tells me they didn't have a choice," Cheetara explained.

"Damn she's good," Mandora smirked.

"I'll get to work on removing those kill switches. That must be done before the Mutants find out that we've stopped their intended attack," Tygra said before paging Doctor Pungali.

"Good idea. In the meantime, let's get everyone up to speed and this one back to bed," Lion-O agreed, turning his head toward the others as he spoke. Cheetara swatted his behind before he turned around. He gave her a look and then noticed that look in her eyes. He smirked knowing where her mind had gone in that moment. It had been awhile since the two of them had had a moment to themselves.

"I'll round up the team," Mandora said before scooting out of the door. Lion-O scooped up Cheetara and headed back to her hospital room, much to the relief of the nurses.


	19. Chapter 19

Tygra and Doctor Pungali worked quickly and successfully removed the kill switches at which point, Alluro was brought upstairs and shown into Chilla's room, where they quickly chained him into the chair next to the bed. The two of them gave Tygra and Lion-O, who had joined them, a confused look. The ThunderCats had put them both in a room together, which would not normally be done, lest they try to plot an escape.

"All right. What's going on?" Chilla asked first, narrowing her eyes at Lion-O. Before the lion could begin, Mandora entered the room and closed the door.

"We removed kill switches which we guess the Mutant High Council had put into you in order to control you," Tygra spoke first.

"Just because you freed us from them doesn't mean you're going to let us go," Alluro pointed out.

"True. You still have time left to serve at Way Outback and someone must pay for what was done to us and our citizens," Lion-O nodded.

"You want us to give up who got us out and who wants you dead? Then all you did was buy us some small amount of time before we end up dead anyway," Chilla glared at them.

"I can arrange for you to be safe. I have already set in motion getting your sister and her family off of your frozen rock of a Plundarrian moon," Mandora chimed in.

"I'm not helping you until I can see that you actually got her out. She's all I have left in this world and I can't bear to know that she was hurt because of my actions," the ice queen seemed to melt right in front of them for a second until she started cursing under her breath. Alluro raised an eyebrow completely confused as to how his once fearless and calculating partner-in-crime was getting all mushy on him.

"Understandable but we think you both need to hear what Tygra discovered and you both have a decision to make," Lion-O said.

"What did you find?" Alluro was really out of his element now. He had spent the better part of his life controlling the minds of others and now it felt as if he had completely lost control of everything.

"Chilla is pregnant," Tygra said simply.

"That explains a lot," the Lunatak clenched her fists. Alluro had no idea what to say.

"I imagine the softer side we've been seeing is thanks to the shift in hormones and other body processes," the tiger continued.

"This is your fault!" Chilla looked at Alluro with a rage they had often seen on the battlefield.

"Our guess is that this wasn't some happy accident but a side effect of the plan set in motion by the same people who put those chips into you," Mandora said.

"So now tell us the truth. Were you both forced into physical relations or did one of you enjoy it a little too much to stop?" Lion-O wanted to know. Alluro looked over at Chilla who was seemingly ready to rip his throat out. Her emotions were definitely all over the board and lying now would serve little purpose other than getting him castrated if she managed to break out of the chains that held her to the bed.

"We had no choice at first," Alluro admitted, slumping his shoulders.

"At first?" Tygra raised an eyebrow.

"Say one more word and when I get loose you'll be missing pieces!" Chilla didn't want their audience to know what had happened.

"It has to be done. If not for our own safety, then for the safety of every Mutant and Lunatak everywhere. We may want to kill those who have been are sworn enemy but Mutants killing Mutants just doesn't make sense and while I will do a lot of things, becoming a baby killer and a rapist were never part of my plan!" He was losing his cool now. The look on Chilla's face softened.

"What happened?" Mandora pressed.

"We were forced into a room after they injected us with those kill switches. They said I had better soften Chilla up so that she could fight the ThunderCats with her true Mutant talent. I refused. The leader then told me that if I wasn't man enough, each of the crew would have their shot at trying to do so. I didn't know what else to do because at any minute they could activate those kill switches and head back to Way Outback and find new Lunataks to torture," Alluro started.

"How could they do that? Surely the systems at Way Outback would have alerted the guards to missing prisoners," Mandora gave him a look. She had a team at Way Outback investigating and any information she received, she wanted to check it against the Mutants' story.

"It wasn't that hard. The guards at Way Outback are paid practically nothing. A big enough payday and I'm sure someone would be willing to assist anyone who asked," Chilla chimed in.

"Hold the phone – why wouldn't you volunteer to come with them?" Lion-O was confused at the hesitance that both Alluro and Chilla had shown.

"At first, it sounded like a great idea and we were all for it. Right up until they injected us with those kill switches. That's when things went off the rails," Alluro admitted.

"The kill switches were originally intended for spy work. The new Mutant High Council puts them in anyone who they snap up to do their bidding. Needless to say, it's getting harder and harder for them to find willing participants for their half-cocked schemes after the failure of the invasion. What's worse is that they've been stealing Lunataks off of their home planets first. It seems that they view Lunataks lower than they view their own people," Chilla told them.

"They've been kidnapping people? How do you know that?" Mandora eyed the ice queen.

"My sister's letters. We're allowed to write home and receive mail. Needless to say our messages appear benign but we use code to avoid the High Council getting their mitts on it," the female Lunatak explained.

"Ok so now I'm beginning to see why you were not so thrilled to help even if it meant killing me," Lion-O said.

"Forgive us but we want that victory to claim for ourselves. Not one the Mutant High Council can claim was their brilliant idea," Alluro smirked.

"Despite the implications, I get it. So what happened when they locked you in that room?" Lion-O brought the conversation back to where they had originally left off.

"Chilla tried to freeze me; I jumped aside and grabbed her. Knowing they were watching, I got her to the bed, and I think we all know the rest," Alluro frowned.

"Well you seem to be forgetting something. The only way Chilla gets her powers is if the relationship is consummated and done so with deeper feelings than just having a wild fling. Otherwise everyone on Chilla's moon would have those powers. We know that's not true so we're missing a few pieces of information here," Mandora gave him a look.

"We've come this far. You might as well tell them everything," Chilla looked at Alluro and he nodded.

"What the Mutants didn't know was that we were already in a relationship, though obviously we weren't in a physical one given our jail cells. They figured if they used Chilla's body then she would magically transform. It shows how much they really know about Lunataks," he huffed before continuing,

"Her powers only come around when the bond between two Lunataks from different moons, share a connection. It has to be more than physical. It has to be emotional as well. That is why you hardly hear of Lunataks with enhanced abilities. The likelihood that two different types of Lunatak will meet and actually form a bond that strong is incredibly rare. Typically we hate each other too much to do so."

"It's no wonder you guys don't get more done," Tygra said.

"True. Hate can be a great fuel but it can also be a great disadvantage. Problem is, we don't want to be like you ThunderCats," Alluro told them.

"Yes because real friendship is a total bummer," Lion-O rolled his eyes.

"So we know how it started then. I can understand why you would both feel violated. That moment was not supposed to be watched by others," Mandora said.

"Regrettably it was not a one-time affair. The only way to keep those slimy Mutants at bay was to continue to do so at least once-a-day during the trip. Otherwise they threatened to do all sorts of horrible things to the both of us," Alluro hung his head. Chilla was on the verge of falling apart right there. In their own way, the two loved each other but they did not want the world to know it, especially considering what had occurred.

"Well then the only way to give you some sort of justice would be to find who did this and put them to a stop," Mandora said.

"What are the Evil Chasers going to do? The Mutant High Council will deny everything. There can't be any proof of what we just said, other than the guards getting paid off at Way Outback," Chilla pointed out.

"I have my ways," Mandora said before leaving the group. Lion-O looked at Tygra who just shrugged. He then turned his attention to the two Lunataks.

"Now the next question is this – do you want to keep the baby and if so, how do you want to handle your impending return to prison?" Tygra wondered.

"I have no idea what to do with a baby but maybe it is best that they child live with my sister and her family until I am released from prison," Chilla said.

"Where will you be sending us? We can't go back to Way Outback. The Mutant High Council has too many connections inside the Penal Planet as well," Alluro told them.

"That is something I will have to figure out. For the time being you will remain here. Mandora has promised to bring Chilla's family here as well. We need to make sure you're all safe and despite our usual hostility towards one another, I feel our hostility should be directed at the Mutant High Council first," Lion-O told them before signaling the guards who came into the room and quickly unchained Alluro from the chair. They hauled him up and headed towards the door.


	20. Chapter 20

Lion-O was enjoying some time with his children and Cheetara after dinner when Mandora knocked on the door to the cheetah's hospital room. The Evil Chaser had been making all sorts of phone calls since she had split off from their conversation with the two Lunataks in their custody. The lion and cheetah welcomed her into the room and she took a seat next to Lion-O.

"Can these little ones be trusted with top secret information?" She teased. Leo was almost three and his sister, Sahara, was almost one, they were smart children but still much too young to understand.

"Most trusted people I know outside of my wife," Lion-O winked.

"Yes well loose lips scuttle ships and take down nations," Mandora told them.

"I'm not sure I've heard it that way before," Cheetara commented. She was feeling much better and her burns were healing nicely. Tygra hoped that she could go back to sharing a room with her mate by the end of the week.

"I suppose not but ultimately it is true," the Evil Chaser pointed out.  
"What did you find out?" Now Lion-O was really curious.

"My contacts inside Plundarr say that the ship that helped Chilla and Alluro escape was able to return to their home planet after dropping off their cargo. Apparently, they had little faith this mission would succeed," Mandora started.

"Then how would they activate the kill switches?" Cheetara was confused.

"That is more devious than I thought. The gear that the Lunataks were given had the trigger inside of their escape pod. One press of a button from Plundarr and the homing beacon, meant to help them go home, would send off the frequency needed to activate the switches. Then the ship would explode to ensure their deaths," the blonde shook her head.

"So they wouldn't need to be near the escape pod to have those things set off. The powerful navigation system inside the pod could broadcast the frequency for miles. Then the explosion would destroy any remaining evidence," Lion-O frowned.

"I'm afraid so. As much as I hate to admit it, those Mutants are becoming more evil and turning it against their own people," Mandora said.

"So how did you get Chilla's family off of the moon without people noticing?" Cheetara asked.

"We did the only thing we could do. As Evil Chasers we have jurisdiction over escaped convicts. Taking the convict's family into custody is standard procedure. It also works great as a disguise. They've been informed of the situation and are en route to New Thundera. They came without a struggle which was odd. Every experience I've ever had with Lunataks tends to end with blasters," she shrugged.

"How did you get to Alluro's family then?" The cheetah asked.

"He doesn't have any. That's partially why Luna picked him. He grew up on the mean streets of his planet and didn't have anything soften him up until Chilla, I guess," Mandora explained.

"Ok so what about evidence against the Mutant High Council? And where are we going to keep Chilla and Alluro? The good Thunderians of this planet aren't going to take the news of imprisoned Lunataks or even the free ones near their homes," Lion-O pointed out.

"I can take them all with me when I leave. The less people know the better. As for the Mutant High Council, we can start with the escape pod and charge them with setting Chilla and Alluro loose on New Thundera. That will be enough of a charge to make the Space Council of Planets sit up and take notice. It will also tie the Mutants up while an investigation is being held on their planet. First things first though, we need to find that pod," she said.

"Talk to Chilla and Alluro. Then take Panthro, Lea, and Ben-Gali with you. I have to get these little ones to bed and I have to speak with Li-en," Lion-O told her.

"Very good. Then let us get moving," Mandora nodded.


	21. Chapter 21

"Remind me again why we're trying to search for an escape pod in the middle of winter in the dark?" Lea asked as she shivered in her seat aboard the ThunderStrike. Panthro was flying the craft with the heater blasting as the temperature outside had once again dipped into the single digits and well below freezing.

"Because it won't take long for the Mutants to find out we took Chilla's family off of their moon. They'll blow it up and then our evidence will be in itsy-bitsy pieces all over the mountains," Mandora said.

"I like a good jigsaw puzzle," the lioness teased.

"I think I have something metal on the sensors," Ben-Gali chirped in from the pod he was riding in. The tiger would be able to launch and land anywhere while the ThunderStrike would need to find a good sized clearing to do so. This would enable Ben-Gali to get working on disabling the homing beacon and clearing the explosives before the rest of the team arrived.

"Double check the sensors before launching. At this temperature, you could be getting false readings," Panthro instructed.

"I believe it. I think my toes are already frozen," the tiger chuckled into the radio.

"I'm sweating to death. Trying to keep the ladies from freezing," the panther smirked for which he got a smack in the back of the head from his beloved.

"Oooooh that smarts," Ben-Gali laughed as he could hear the smack on his end of the radio. He quickly double checked his readings and confirmed what he originally thought.

"Mutant escape pod located. Launching pod now," he told the main cabin.

"Check. We'll circle and look for a good place to land," Panthro told him. With that Ben-Gali launched the pod and guided it toward his landing spot. Luckily the ship wasn't covered in too much snow and he began cleaning it off in order to find the door.

Mandora, Lea, and Panthro looked for a decent place to land and luckily found one not too far away. The panther set the ship down and then they disembarked. The snow crunched beneath their feet because it was so cold.

"I think I'll start a fire when we get there," Lea's teeth chattered. They wore their incredibly warm ThunderSuits but given the lioness was still getting over her frostbite, she had yet to really feel warm unless wrapped in blankets or the panther.

"Sounds like a plan," Mandora's teeth were chattering too.

"I packed a heater inside the kit. We'll be able to work inside the ship and heat the inside of it without plugging anything into it. We need to fly this bugger back to the Lair but we can't turn it on until we disable that homing chip. If the Mutants see that the ship is moving, they might blow it up anyway," Panthro told them, fighting to keep his own teeth from chattering.

"This is true. I wouldn't put anything past them at this point," Mandora agreed. Arriving at the ship, they found that Ben-Gali was already inside.

"I've got the extra tool kit and the heater," Panthro told him.

"Good. Close the door and crank that sucker," Ben-Gali said as he continued to check over the instrument panel, trying to find what they were looking for.

"So why didn't my brother join us on this fun trip?" Lea asked as she pulled out the heater, set it on the floor, and activated it. It was a contraption of Panthro's invention that used Thundrillium batteries to run which allowed them to be taken anywhere and did not require lighting wood on fire or plugging it into an electrical source.

"He said he had to talk to Li-en. Seemed like an odd thing to say but I could tell by his tone, he wasn't looking forward to it," Mandora told her.

"Oh and I don't envy Li-en either," Ben-Gali shook his head as he found the main electrical panel.

"Oh do tell," Mandora said.

"Let's just say he completely disregarded a direct order from his King," Panthro said as he handed Ben-Gali a screwdriver.

"That doesn't sound like him," the Evil Chaser was confused.

"It isn't but things haven't really been the same with him since he got injured," Lea explained. Mandora nodded as she wondered how that conversation was going.


	22. Chapter 22

"So Tygra tells me you're feeling better," Lion-O said as he stood in the doorway of Li-en's room.

"If better means actually breathing, then yes, I guess so. Tygra says I left this planet a few times before they got me back," the liger smiled slightly.

"Well I think I like you breathing over not breathing," the lion told him as he moved into the room and took a seat next to the hospital bed.

"I'm sure my wife agrees," Li-en heaved a shallow sigh.

"You don't? I know that Cavan told you what she found out the other day," Lion-O gave him a look. It seemed that Lynx-O had been right.

"She told me," he frowned and now the lion knew that there were more than just physical wounds to deal with.

"You have a lot to look forward to. Tygra says that despite your injuries you should still be able to resume your training in the spring. You'll have a new family member by summer," his King reminded him.

"I disobeyed a direct order, drugged a fellow ThunderCat, and put lives in danger. The only place I belong is prison. I have brought disgrace to the ThunderCats and my family," the liger shook his head.

"Disgrace? You did disobey a direct order and you did drug a fellow ThunderCat but I know that the men and women down in the hangar didn't try to stop you. I also know that they look at you with the utmost respect and believed you were doing the right thing despite the way you did it. I wouldn't exactly call that a disgrace. You did something that was very brave and very stupid. It reminds me of me when I was your age," Lion-O chuckled at the last part. Li-en looked right at him, completely confused as to what was going on.

"Still I must punish you otherwise someone else will think it is a good idea. Once you complete your retraining and pass your physical, you will spend six months on desk duty, working the overnight shift in the Control Room. You will not be allowed inside the hangar for those six months. Afterwards, I will reassess and we will go from there. I will be docking pay to those who assisted you in your little endeavor in their next paycheck. I've already addressed them and they know how lucky they are. There were no complaints," the lion continued. It would basically mean that it would be about nine months before the liger would be back in active duty action which Lion-O felt was punishment enough. The others would be losing a hundred Thundarian dollars out of their next paycheck. While they did not know about Li-en's plan to take over the mission, they did assist, and a hundred dollars at holiday time was better than the alternative which would typically involve corporal punishment.

"Thank you my King," Li-en bowed his head.

"You are welcome. Now get better and I'll be looking forward to the spring and watching you train," Lion-O stood and started to head out of the room when an announcement came over the PA system.

"King Lion-O to the hangar, King Lion-O to the hangar. The crew is back with the escape pod."

"I best get going," the lion smirked. He headed out of the room and out of the Med Bay. He moved quickly into the hangar just in time to see Panthro stripping out of his ThunderSuit.

"You have to see what we found," the panther said.

"Oh? Something good?" The lion asked.

"Nail the Mutants good," Panthro smirked.


	23. Chapter 23

"So we disconnected the homing beacon and then we pulled up the system computer and discovered the internal records showing the ship movement," Ben-Gali said as he pulled up the records on the big screen inside Panthro's office. The crew that had rescued the escape pod and Lion-O had squeezed into the room so they could talk in private.

"All righty but that should only show what happened after the ship left the mothership, right?" Lion-O asked.

"Well usually it does. It seems that in order to install the homing beacon, they turned on the ship's data recorder and all the computer systems in order to run a check on all the systems when completed," Ben-Gali continued.

"That sounds pretty standard but usually that wipes when the ship is re-docked with the mothership," the lion stated.

"Correct again except this one didn't," Ben-Gali had a smile on his face about a mile wide.

"Oh now how did we get that lucky?" Lion-O was completely surprised.

"Well either the guy they had doing this was a complete idiot or he took a big risk. This basically shows us that they flew to Way Outback, did something there, then headed our way," Panthro spoke up. The King raised an eyebrow and the panther continued,

"The circuit required to wipe the memory once re-docking was complete was not reattached. It was a simple thing to do and it would not be noticed by anyone piloting the ship as the physical docking procedures, like having the clamps in place, would not be hampered."

"Ok see this is where they lost me. Just because the computer doesn't think it's re-docked, doesn't mean the rest of the ship thinks that," Mandora said.

"It seems the Mutants kept those computers separate in an attempt to keep one failure from allowing the ship to disengage when needed. That idea is fine and dandy as long as you have a system inside the bridge that would alert you to a failure on any of the systems attached to the escape pod. Had they realized the ship would record everything, my guess is that they would have attempted to fix it before leaving Plundarr," Panthro explained.

"I see your point. The guy was stupid or he took a big risk. Didn't the Lunataks say that things aren't so rosy on Plundarr since the failed invasion?" Lion-O turned to Mandora.

"That they did. My sources agree. We could have someone who did it in purpose figuring that if the ship was going to blow up anyway, his calculated move would not be noticed. I mean let's face it, the only way it comes back to bite him in the ass is if we actually find it. The chances of that would have been slim had you dispatched Chilla and Alluro. Still it was something he could do in case the ship fell into the right hands," the Evil Chaser conceded.

"Well that puts us in a bit of a bind doesn't it? I mean if we tell them how we found out our information, whoever did this, purposefully or otherwise, is going to have their goose cooked," Lea said.

"A valid point," Ben-Gali nodded. Silence fell in between the members of the group. The evidence was perfect but how could they get someone they didn't even know possibly killed?

"Let me see if my contacts can locate our helper. If they can convince him to leave the planet, we might be able to then use what he did against the Mutant High Council," she finally answered after some thought.

"Do it. Meantime, we'll get everything in order to receive Chilla's family," Lion-O nodded.


	24. Chapter 24

Lion-O had just sat down at the breakfast table, noticing that Mandora was not in the room, despite the majority of the team being there. He figured that sniffing out the helper was harder than it had sounded. The door opened and he turned to see if the Evil Chaser was walking through it. Instead, he dropped his fork back into his eggs, and bolted from the table.

"And I thought I was the only one who could move that fast," Cheetara smirked as he pulled her into his arms.

"Tygra said you still had a few days…" she cut him off before he could finish.

"He wanted me to come down and have breakfast. See how quickly I tire out. If I still feel up to it, I'm going to visit the kids. I miss them something terribly." She then reached behind him and smacked his backside before leaning a little closer to whisper in his ear,

"Before you know it, I'll be doing more than just walking." To this the lion's cheeks reddened.

"Don't tease me like that," he smirked before pulling her in for a kiss. From another table, not far away, they were disrupted by Panthro chuckling and saying,

"Like little rabbits."

"I really don't want to think about that. He's my brother," Lea shook her head. Lion's cheeks were the color of his hair as he helped his wife into a seat near his cooling breakfast. Snarf rushed out and gave Cheetara a gentle hug before heading back into the kitchen to get her some food.

"Oh please like you and Panthro are keeping your hands off of each other," Lion-O smirked.

"How are things?" Cheetara shifted the focus of the conversation.

"Chilla's family will be here in about ninety minutes and the guest chambers are ready. We're waiting on hearing from Mandora though before we proceed. It's good to have you back by the way," Ben-Gali smiled.

"Thank you. How is Pumyra?" The cheetah wanted to know.

"Keeping the little one occupied. He's quite the hungry little fella," the white tiger chuckled.

"They are at that age," she winked.

"On the bright side, the crews from Third Earth are really helping. Between the food being restocked and troops getting breaks, we're making good headway on getting the avalanche debris cleaned up. Some bodies have been found unfortunately and sent to the morgue. Most have been identified so now we just have to wait to the Spring thaw to give them a proper burial," Panthro continued where Ben-Gali had left off.

"That sounds good. What if Mandora doesn't find the helper?" The cheetah wondered.

"We'll have to take the chance that he already got out. If we don't expose the Mutants to the Space Council of Planets, they'll try it again, with Lunataks who might decide that defeating us is in their best interest," Lion-O said.

"The needs of the many," she nodded.

"Exactly," Lea agreed.

"Well hopefully there is no more bloodshed. One would think that the Mutants would…" Lea never got a chance to finish as Mandora busted into the room and blurted out,

"We've got a situation!"


	25. Chapter 25

"That can't be good. What's going on?" Lion-O asked her. The Evil Chaser didn't respond however and rushed back out of the room.

"After her!" Panthro barked. They all stood and breakfast was quickly forgotten. Heading out into the hallway, they saw that she had headed back to the Control Room and that immediately put thoughts of the incoming transport being in danger. Should Chilla's family not arrive safely, there would be repercussions.

"On screen!" Mandora ordered and Punthar quickly pulled up the man she'd been talking to on the smaller screen to the big screen.

"Are you safely off the planet?" Mandora asked as the ThunderCats came barreling into the room.

"I am off planet and safely away from the moons. Should I call for backup?" He wanted to know.

"He's a…" Panthro couldn't finish his sentence.

"Evil Chaser Second Class Pali at your service," the man smiled slightly.

"Forgive my colleague but we're all a little shocked that you are a Mutant," Lion-O quickly apologized for Panthro's outburst. They had all been completely surprised by the lizard on the screen.

"Not to worry. What better way to hide on Plundarr? Still my original question stands ma'am. Do I call for backup?" Pali wanted to know.

"Negative. Get your ass to New Thundera. I'll alert the Space Council of Planets and we'll go from there," Mandora ordered.

"Yes ma'am. I'll be to you tomorrow by noon," Pali responded.

"Excellent. Transmit the data you have to me and we'll see you then," the blonde ordered.

"Yes ma'am. Over and out," with that the call ended and the ThunderCats all turned toward Mandora.

"I think it's time we found out what is going on," Lynx-O said.

"Yes, what happened?" Lion-O wanted to know.

"Something we didn't expect. Pali was ramping up his search for our helper when all hell broke loose. Seems that the news of the Evil Chasers taking Chilla's family into custody caused something that was just under the surface to boil over," she motioned to Punthar who pulled up the data, including photos, which had been sent to them from the undercover.

"This morning at nine am Mutant Standard Time, leaders in the Mutant High Council were assassinated before their usual morning meeting could take place. The assassinations were carried out by a team of Mutants who then tried to escape the planet. The Mutants weren't fast enough to close their ports and the Mutants escaped to the nearby moon, home to none other than Alluro's people. The Lunataks then launched an attack on Plundarr," Mandora explained as they all looked at the footage taken from satellites and what they assumed were photos that Pali had surreptitiously taken.

"Sweet mother of Thundera," Ben-Gali murmured as the pictures of the murder scene flashed up on the screen. It was a gruesome sight and blood covered almost every desk surface in the meeting room.

"Pali was able to get these photos via the cameras that we set up after the invasion. The Mutants didn't know they were there and it allowed us to keep an eye on things. The whole incident from this morning was caught on camera. Luckily, my man was able to get off planet during the Lunataks attempt to attack. The battle still rages on from the satellite pictures," she explained.

"How'd you get these pictures from the satellites? The Mutants would have put up a hell of a fight if you had taken their equipment out of orbit," Cheetara pointed out.

"Another wonderful move on our part after their attempted invasion of New Thundera. Our techs installed a virus that beams images to us. We figured in case they tried to amass troops and weapons again," Mandora told them.

"You had these guys under all this surveillance and they still managed to free Chilla and Alluro?" Lynx-O raised an eyebrow.

"Our systems were strictly meant to monitor Plundarr. There was no way to know that that ship would head to Way Outback and remove the Lunataks. In order for us to do that we would have had to install a virus into their air traffic control software which was way out of our reach. The Space Council only approved what they did because we were concerned about them starting another war, not attempting to assassinate Lion-O," the blonde clarified.

"I guess you'd better get a hold of the Space Council," Lion-O said. Mandora nodded and had Puthar pull up a secure channel to the Space Council and she quickly informed them of the developments on Plundarr.


	26. Chapter 26

Chilla's family arrived with little incident and were immediately taken to see the wounded Lunatak. There Lion-O informed them, once Alluro had been brought up to the Med Bay so they could all be told at once, that Plundarr was under attack from Alluro's people. They were all very surprised to say the least. The lion told them that the Evil Chasers were on it along with the Space Council of Planets. Still that did not seem to calm their nerves. He then went onto explain the plan for Chilla and Alluro. Chilla's sister, Lucretia, promised to take care of the baby, like it was her own. Lion-O said that Mandora would be in charge of assisting their relocation until after Chilla and Alluro had finished serving their prison sentences. Lucretia thanked Lion-O for his hospitality as did her husband, Kaytah. Their children were small but old enough to be upset at leaving their home and their friends behind. Lion-O knew that that would happen but he promised to give them a tour of the library once they were finished visiting their Aunt, and allow them to check out some books. It wasn't much but the gesture must have been enough because the little girl, Pahmina, was very excited. Her brother, Doku, was not but then again not many little boys care about reading at his age.

Mandora spent most of the day alerting the Space Council of Planets and speaking to her superiors at Evil Chaser headquarters. Needless to say, both entities seemed content with letting the Lunataks and Mutants duke it out. The Mutants started it and it seemed like the Lunataks, along with some Mutant assistance, were going to finish it. Mandora wasn't sure it was the right answer but getting more agencies and planets involved in the struggle between two evil powers in the galaxy, did seem like a stretch. More innocents would die and for what? So the Mutants could continue to have a stranglehold on the Lunataks? Still the blonde spoke to Lynx-O at length who, being the wisest of the ThunderCats, told her that perhaps the wait and see approach was best.

By morning, other Lunatak moons had joined in the fray, and now Lion-O was beginning to wonder what should be done. Mandora again updated her superiors and the Space Council of Planets but again they said to remain put. Not long after the call, Pali arrived on the planet and Mandora went out to greet him. Needless to say, the ThunderGuard posted in the hangar, were not exactly sure if they should welcome him, given the company they'd been receiving as of late. Luckily Lion-O had followed behind Mandora and assured them that he was one of the good guys. Just to be sure, Pali flashed his badge, and the Cats nodded before apologizing.

"You have to do that a lot don't you?" Lion-O asked.

"I'm afraid so but it's worth it. The galaxy needs to be safe," Pali smiled slightly.

"Well you're always welcome here. I have to ask, how did the Evil Chasers recruit you?" The lion wanted to know as they exited the hangar.

"That's a bit of a long story but I promise I'll get to it," the Mutant promised.

"Well things have taken a turn over on Plundarr," Mandora explained as they moved toward the Control Room.

"How so?" He asked.

"Lunataks are attacking Plundarr. From the satellite images it looks like a big battle is taking place," Mandora told him.

"Oh Gods," Pali's shoulders slumped.

"Our orders are to stay put. I know that probably isn't something you want to do but…" she didn't get a chance to finish.

"It's the right thing to do. Besides if we interfere then it looks like we were monitoring them," the lizard interrupted her. Mandora nodded and they entered the Control Room. Punthar had the satellite feed up on the screen. Pali just stared at it, unable to look away. Ships were exploding and bombs were being launched on the people below while the Mutants shot back.

"Did you get the information we need?" Mandora asked, drawing his focus away from the screen. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a storage device.

"Direct from the Mutant High Council servers," he nodded.

"Excellent work," the Evil Chaser praised him before taking the device and plugging it into the main computer. The screen changed and information popped up onto the screen.

"What are we looking at?" Lion-O wanted to know.

"The information that will get the Space Council of Planets involved in the war," the blonde said.


	27. Chapter 27

"Color me not surprised," Chilla hissed as Mandora explained the updated situation going on between the planet and her moons. She had gathered all the Lunatak adults in the Med Bay and Lion-O was there to listen in along with Panthro, Tygra, Cheetara, and Lea.

"We have evidence that the Mutants were planning more than they let on and my man went to great lengths to get it. I have sent the message and all the details to the head Evil Chasers and Space Council of Planets. We have to wait for a response but I think they'll both want to jump in and stop this before it gets any further," Mandora went on to further explain.

"If what you say is true then the other Lunataks will not back down. We have spent too many years being bullied by the Mutants of Plundarr," Kaytah shook his head.

"I'm with him," Alluro chimed in. There was a knock at the door and Lion-O pressed the button to open it.

"Traitors!" Chilla hissed as she saw Pali in the doorway. The temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees and somehow the Lunatak was making it snow indoors.

"Stand down Lunatak! That's my man who risked his life! Hurt him and going back to prison will be the least of your worries!" Mandora shouted. Chilla narrowed her eyes but the room temperature went back up and it stopped snowing.

"What is it Pali? That took a lot of balls by the way," the Evil Chaser gave him a smirk.

"The Space Council of Planets has agreed to your proposal. They are sending squadrons of ships to Plundarrian and Lunatak air space. I only ask that you allow me to join them," the lizard smiled slightly at her.

"I can't let you go. Since you managed to get off the planet, your cover has been blown. There could be those looking for revenge and it would most certainly mean your death," Mandora shook her head.

"It seems I am a man without a planet then," Pali's shoulders slumped. At this everyone in the room, despite their allegiances, felt bad for him. Whether good or evil, they all had places they could go where they would be accepted by their own peoples.

"Give me a few more minutes and we'll talk," she gave him a smile and turned back to the Lunataks.

"Ok, since my proposal has been accepted, the Space Council of Planets is going to bring the leaders of Plundarr and each moon to the table to talk. I have suggested something that is unprecedented but I think that it can be the only way to prevent things from happening in the future," the Evil Chaser explained.

"What did you propose?" Lucretia asked; a little concerned.

"That the moons of Plundarr should no longer be beholden to the will of Plundarr and her government. This would mean that each moon would be sovereign and therefore allowed equal protection under the law, which in turn means that bases would be established on each moon and on Plundarr and house Evil Chasers, on a temporary basis, in order to help establish governments and other needed internal systems, like roads, hospitals, and the like," Mandora told them.

"And they agreed with this idea?" Alluro gave her a look.

"Yes. It has long been noted that the moons of Plundarr were never established like Plundarr. The Mutants did such in order to keep your peoples down and in doing so fostered a relationship that not only adversely affected the Lunataks but also the rest of the galaxy. Perhaps now, peace can be achieved and the remaining criminals rooted out of what remains of the existing government," the Evil Chaser continued.

"Our people would go along with that but I'm not sure how it would root out all of the criminals," Kaytah spoke up.

"Well it won't but once a police force is established, you could catch your own criminals and then we, as Evil Chasers, could assist in the deportation of the worst criminals," Mandora hoped this would help.

"Does that mean we could go home?" Lucretia wanted to know.

"Once everything is in place, we'd have to see. I don't want to send you back and there still be a risk of you getting harmed. Of course, all of this hinges on whether or not your tribal leaders will agree," she pointed out.

"They'd have to be stupid not to. Another opportunity like this won't come along. The Mutants will put up a fight though. They depend on the taxes they collect from us. Now you see why crime and working for Luna seemed like such a good idea," Chilla smirked.

"Admit it, you liked it," Alluro gave her a look that could only be described as love, which made the ThunderCats want to gag.

"I liked it," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Which is why you'll be finishing your sentences at Way Outback once my teams are done ridding it of its corruption," Mandora shook her head.

"Well I guess all there is to do now is wait," Cheetara shrugged.

"Indeed. Tygra, would you escort Lucretia and Kaytah back to their children? I'm sure Snarf has them wanting a break," Lion-O chuckled and the orange tiger nodded with a chuckle himself. Tygra let the ThunderGuard in who quickly got Alluro and escorted him back to his cell. Mandora and the rest of the group walked out into the hallway and closed the door to Chilla's room.

"Now Pali, as we started to discuss earlier, you were always without a planet, my friend, but never without a home. I'm sure your folks would love to see their son and all he's accomplished. When was the last time you checked in with them?" His superior asked.

"It has been a couple of years since I've seen them. I was undercover for a long time," he admitted.

"Then that is the first order of business because I know your mother has been disappointed when the video line buzzes and she gets me instead of you. You are ordered to take leave for at least a month. If you still want to be in the service after that, then we'll talk about placement. After all you did volunteer," Mandora told him. Before Pali could speak up, Lion-O put up a hand.

"If I could suggest that he be reassigned here as our resident Evil Chaser? Should he want to continue his service of course," the King said.

"You would do that sir?" Pali asked, very surprised considering the long history between Mutants and ThunderCats.

"As I said, you're always welcome here. A friend of Mandora is a friend of ours," Lion-O nodded.

"It would put you closer to home and I'm sure there won't be a dull moment on New Thundera," Mandora smirked, to which Lion-O chuckled.

"I second the idea. While it isn't Plundarr or your home planet, New Thundera cam become a place you see as home," Cheetara smiled and gave Lion-O's arm a squeeze for suggesting the idea.

"She's right. They took me in without any questions and believe me there were quite a few. It took me awhile to get used to being around people who cared but it was totally worth it and I have a family now. I know it isn't the same thing as having a Mutant family but family doesn't have to be blood. Family is people who care for you as you are," Lea gave him a smile. Panthro kissed her temple, unable to help himself.

"Then I gladly accept, should Mandora be all right with it," Pali smiled.

"Of course as long as they aren't trying to get rid of me," Mandora teased.

"What would we do without you?" Lion-O chuckled.

"Probably get your butts kicked," she laughed to which everyone there laughed, except for their new friend, who was missing out on the inside joke.

"Well then it's settled. Panthro, Lea, can you help him get his ship ready?" Lion-O asked.

"On it," Panthro and Lea told him.


	28. Chapter 28

With Pali on his way home, Lion-O and the ThunderCats turned their attention to what was going on over on Plundarr. Things seemed to be under control as the fighting had stopped and troops from the Space Council of Planets were on the scene.

"Ok so what now?" Lion-O asked.

"Well I need to hear that Way Outback has been cleared of its corruption before I go anywhere," Mandora admitted.

"I wouldn't recommend transporting Chilla for at least a week. We can't have her having any medical emergencies on the journey," Tygra spoke up.

"Good point," the Evil Chaser nodded.

"So give us the scoop. How'd you find Pali? I can't imagine that Mutants were accepted on other planets. Regrettably, their reputation precedes them," Panthro gave her a look.

"All right since it's eating at you so, Pali was the only survivor of a spaceship crash that I responded to. It was one of my first cases and I did some searching only to discover that he had been orphaned by the crash. We've all seen how Alluro turned out. Of course at the time, most of the orphans were subject to ridicule and lived in terrible conditions on Plundarr. Since he was only about a year old, I found an orphanage that took in children no matter their race. Within six months, Pali was adopted. I kept in touch with the orphanage and the adoptive parents, visiting as often as I could. When he was old enough, he wanted to sign up for the Evil Chasers. I explained that he'd be the only Mutant ever to try and signup. He wasn't deterred and the management encouraged him, mostly I think because they knew that a Mutant would never be suspected amongst his own people," Mandora explained.

"You said he volunteered," Lea reminded her.

"Well technically he did. There were never really any rules for hiring a Mutant. By that I mean people who typically commit crimes and aren't usually into helping others. No one like him had ever asked to join. So he started at the academy. He did well but certain things he was physically limited to do, given his body type and genetics. Since he technically couldn't pass some of the physical portions of the training, he was ushered into undercover work. All who do are volunteers as missions have an increased chance of death. Risks and all, he jumped into it headlong and without him we would not have the info we did. He has done not only his family proud but all Evil Chasers proud. I've put him in for a commendation," the Evil Chaser told them.

"Well he deserves it," Cheetara smiled.

"That he does and he certainly deserves our admiration," Lion-O nodded as he pulled his wife into him, glad to have her back.

"I think your offer was great and I do appreciate it," Mandora gave a rare smile.

"It may take a bit to get everyone accustomed to his job but he'll fit in when they see just what kind of man he is," the lion smiled back.

"Another one for the ages, my friends," Lynx-O spoke up.

"Definitely one we won't forget," Lea agreed. The future of the universe had shifted in just a short while. Maybe it was a good thing. Maybe it was a bad thing. Either way, they were stronger and they would head into the future, just as they had in the past, together.

 **T** **H** **E**   **E** **N** **D**


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